Vietnam Today

Province offers to buy corruption intel

Released at: 10:58, 10/04/2015

Financial incentives are to be provided for information relating to shadowy behaviour by those in power.

by MInh Tien

Mr. Ngo Quang Huong, Head of the Commission for Internal Affairs of the Party Committee of Kien Giang Province, said on Wednesday that the commission has issued a statute on buying corruption-related information from both home and abroad.

Accordingly, all individuals and organizations, both in Vietnam and foreign countries, are encouraged to report, directly or indirectly, to the commission any useful information, materials, or evidence related to corrupt acts recorded in the province and committed by people in positions of power.

Any such information can be sent to the commission via phongchongthamnhungkg@gmail.com or reported over the phone at (+84) 919 166 442.

“Depending on the quality and value of the information, we will determine how much its provider will be paid. Corruption whistleblowers will also be commended and rewarded, and their identification will be kept secret,” Mr. Huong said.

The commission is a local unit of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs, which is assigned to make recommendations on legislative work, especially in the fields of internal affairs and combating and preventing corruption.

The commission is also tasked with guiding, monitoring, examining, supervising, and accelerating the implementation of the policies of the Party and State in internal affairs and anti-corruption.

Joint Circular 01 by the Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs

Last month, the Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs issued Joint Circular 01 stipulating that people who denounce corruption and help the government of Vietnam recover from a corruption case an amount over 600 times the common minimum wage will get a reward of up to 3,000 times the common minimum salary applied at the time of denunciation.

The Circular will take effect on May 1, 2015.

In addition, depending on their specific performances in anti-corruption activities, corruption whistleblowers will be honored with one of the three following commendation levels.

The first level is a Medal of Bravery from the State President while the second is a certificate of merit from the Prime Minister.

The third is a certificate of merit from ministers, heads of ministry-equivalent agencies, other agencies under the central government, the chairperson of the National Assembly Office, the chief of the Government Office, the chief judge of the Supreme People’s Court, the head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, and others.

According to the new circular, corruption whistleblowers will also be offered further rewards from the Reward Fund for Corruption Prevention and Control, which is managed by the Government Inspectorate.

Those honored with Medals of Bravery, certificates of merit by the Prime Minister, or certificates by other entities such as the above-mentioned bodies will also be given a reward that is 60 times, 40 times, and 20 times the common minimum wage, respectively.